Friendship worth saving
by tinnie75
Summary: Out of sight out of mind. That is what people say, but it certainly didn't work that way for Jughead Jones as spending more time away from Betty only seemed to make his feeling for her stronger once he finally saw her again. A little one shot taking place after the scene at Pop's in 1x02


"Jughead Jones the third?" Veronica asked, squinting her eyes as if not believing that was an actual name. But her question was just a background noise for Jughead as his eyes rested on the blonde sitting opposite him. Even though he had briefly seen her at school earlier that day, the moment he walked into the diner was the first time he properly looked at her in weeks and his stomach couldn't stop flipping.

He has always had a soft spot for the Betty, but as all the other girls in their school, she only had eyes for Archie. And even though they have never officially dated, it was pretty much given they would eventually end up together. Everyone knew it. With the exception of Archie who, not so surprisingly, was totally oblivious of Betty's feelings. Jughead tried not to dwell on what he felt for her and instead appreciated the time he could spend with her as friends. Unfortunately, as his friendship with Archie started to fall apart a couple of months ago, he started to spend less time with Betty as well. But now that they attempted to reconcile their friendship once again, Jughead realized he may spend more time around his long time crush. A fact, that suddenly became a little scary to him. Out of sight out of mind. That is what people say, but it certainly didn't work that way for Jughead Jones as spending more time away from Betty only seemed to make his feeling for her stronger once he finally saw her again. But he tried to push those thoughts aside. At least for now as he sat beside his two best friends and a new girl who somehow made her way into their group.

So they sat and chatted, drinking milkshakes and eating fries like any other day in the past. Veronica, at least according to Jughead, seemed to fit into their group better than he ever did. And while he didn't see himself becoming her friend anytime soon, if ever, he was glad for her presence as things between Betty and Archie seemed a little awkward at the moment. Archie still hasn't told him what exactly happened between them the night of the dance that made him worry about losing his best friend. But Jughead didn't pry.

"Oh my god!" Veronica exclaimed, looking at her phone. "I promised my mom we would get dinner together tonight. It totally slipped my mind! I'm so sorry B, but I've gotta run before she figures out I forgot about it," she said apologetically as she pulled out a couple of bills that could surely cover more than they all spent, and set them on the table.

"Let me walk you," Archie said a bit too enthusiastically as he jumped from his seat and the three of them exchanged a couple of awkward glances that Jughead couldn't quite figure out.

"I think it's a good idea," Betty said after a moment. "We wouldn't want Veronica to get lost."

"Thank you B. I'll see you tomorrow." She blew Betty an air kiss and gave Jughead a little wave before she and Archie rushed out.

"What was that about?" Jughead asked once he and Betty were left alone. Over the course of the hour they spent together with Archie and Veronica his stomach finally started to calm down, but now that they were on their own, his heart picked up the speed once again.

"I think Archie has found himself his newest crush," Betty replied with a little sigh. She now knew that she and Archie would never be a couple, and she would make sure that whatever feelings he had for Veronica wouldn't ruin either of her friendships. But thinking about him with anyone but her still hurt a little. Years of unrequited feelings wouldn't go away overnight.

"And you're okay with that," Jughead said, more of a statement than a question.

"Well I can't exactly stop him, can I?" Betty gave him a sad smile, swirling the straw in her empty glass. "Besides, him and I... It's never gonna happen."

"Then you must be the only person who thinks that." Jughead chuckled, trying not to sound bitter about the fact, that even though Archie left the diner, the conversation still revolved around him. "Well except Archie, but you know how oblivious that boy is. He wouldn't know it, if you told him straight in the eyes."

"Oh trust me. He knows. He just doesn't see me that way." Betty's lip started to quiver as she once again remembered her conversation with Archie. But this time she wouldn't allow herself to cry. Not again. Not over a boy who wasn't interested in her. There were far worse things to cry about. "And that's something I can't change. So I'd rather just not talk about it."

Jughead didn't say anything and just nodded. He wasn't sure what to say. A part of him was glad, because if Archie was so blind that he never realized Betty's feeling for him, then he didn't deserve her. But on the other hand, seeing Betty so sad because of their mutual best friend, he would give anything to bring a smile back to her face. Even if it meant he would never have a shot with her. Not that Archie being out of the game made Jughead feel any more optimistic about any possible future he could have with Betty.

"I think I better go as well. I don't want to hear my mom's rage if I miss curfew again." Betty rolled her eyes at the thought of her mother.

"You? Missing a curfew? I think I better walk you home and make sure that doesn't happen again," Jughead said jokingly, hoping to spend a few more moments alone with Betty. "Unless you don't feel like having company."

"Sure. But in case I don't make it home on time, you need to run before she bites your head off. She already forbid me to speak to Archie and Veronica. I don't wanna put her against you too."

"Seeing as actively you're avoiding those two, I wouldn't worry about that too much." Jughead grinned. "Though your mom does scare me a bit."

"I don't think there is one person in Riverdale that isn't scared of her."

"About Jason's murder?" Betty raised her eyebrows slightly as Jughead told her about the articles and now the novel he was writing about Jason's unfortunate fate.

"Yeah, it's really starting to come together now that we know he wasn't just trying to run away and hiding somewhere this whole time. But I don't know if it's any good," he added humbly. Their passion for writing was something that Betty and Jughead always bonded over. But now with her landing an internship in LA over the summer while he was just writing in his usual booth at Pop's, he felt like his work wasn't as important.

"Since when do you sell yourself short? I definitely want to read some of that," Betty said with excitement.

"I'm not sure it's ready to see the light of day yet." Jughead shook his head. He has been working on his book since the summer, but as there wasn't much progress in the case of Jason's disappearance, it wasn't an easy task. Not until his body turned up with a shot in the head, which once again brought Jughead a lot to write about.

"Please." Betty attempted the best puppy eyes she could master. She might not know about Jughead's feeling for her, but she knew very well that her big green eyes or promise of some good food were two things that could make Jughead do pretty much anything for her. And while she usually didn't want to use those against him, hearing about his book got her curious enough to bring out her best weapons. "One writer to another."

"Okay, I'll think about it," Jughead said after a moment of consideration. He could never say no the Betty's pleading. To be honest, he could use another pair of eyes to look at his story and there was no one else he trusted more than Betty.

"How about you meet me at Blue and Gold tomorrow?" she asked as an idea sparked in her head. Something that could not only keep her mind away from Archie, but allow her to rebuild her friendship with Jughead as well.

"Blue and Gold? The old school newspaper?" Jughead cocked his eyebrow, not sure what Betty wanted to do in the stuffy, dust-filled room. But if he was being completely honest with himself, he would meet her in the sewers if she asked him.

"Yeah, what's a better place for us to meet up to talk about writing?" She shrugged, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world, the wheels already spinning in her head about how she could bring the long abandoned school newspaper back to life.

"I could think of a few. But sure. I'll be there after school."

"Great!" Betty exclaimed, throwing her arm around Jughead and pulling him into a half hug. "I really missed hanging out with you," she said. The whole time she way in LA she kept blindly pinning over Archie, but only now that she came back and finally spent some more time with Jughead after weeks of very little contact did she realize what she was really missing out on. "I don't know what is going on between you and Archie, but I hate that it made you pull away from me too."

Jughead let out a small sigh, knowing Betty was right. Things between him and Archie were rocky long before their failed road trip. And during this time it wasn't just the two of them who were growing apart, but also him and Betty. He always assumed that if it had to come to that, Betty would choose Archie's side so he may not even bother. He wasn't good at keeping people close to him anyway. But seeing her now, he realized what an idiotic decision it was. If there was even a slightest chance that he could spend time with her, it was worth the effort. "I'm sorry about that. I guess I assumed that growing away from Archie meant I would have to give you up as well. Since you're so tight and everything," Jughead mumbled the last sentence, knowing it sounded stupid, but he couldn't help the way he felt. Betty and Archie were already best friends when he met them, so it made sense to him that losing one would mean losing both.

"I'm not Archie's property!" Betty snapped, startling Jughead a little. She knew he didn't mean it in a bad way, but she hated the idea that people thought she couldn't make her own decisions. "I can be friends with someone even if he isn't. Besides, things between Archie and I aren't exactly bright and jolly right now either," she added a bit softer this time. "So if we can't fix them, I hope it doesn't mean losing you again."

"Then don't make the same mistake I did. Whatever happens between you and Archie, I will always be your friend," Jughead said, lightly touching Betty's shoulder as they stopped in front of her house. "If you want me to."

"I'd be honored." She gave him her brightest smile. Archie may have been her crush for longer than she could remember, but Jughead was the boy who never failed to bring a smile to her face and who was there for her even when Archie was too busy chasing other girls.

Suddenly the light in the front hallway of Betty's house turned on and both her and Jughead's heads snapped to the doorway. "I think my mom might be watching us. Must be a sign to go home." Betty sighed, not wanting to exchange Jughead's presence for her mother's.

"I suppose it is. Mrs. C takes the curfew seriously," Jughead said, sensing Betty's dread to come home. "But we can pick up where we left off tomorrow."

"I'll be looking forward to it." Betty gave him one more bright smile, slowly backing towards her house. "Good night, Jughead Jones."

"Good night, Betty Cooper." Jughead reciprocated the smile as he watched her disappear into the house. Not even twenty-four hours ago he felt utterly alone, but now he couldn't wipe the grin off his face. Betty Cooper was doing things to him without even realizing it.

* * *

 **I would be quite curious to see more of Bughead before the show started or at least before they got together as I would really love to see more of their dynamics. So this was a little attempt at that. I hope you enjoyed it.**


End file.
